AHL Stockton will be known as the Heat

The Stockton AHL franchise, owned by the Calgary Flames, announced on Wednesday night that the team will be known as the Stockton Heat when they begin play in the American Hockey League in 2015-16.

Team president Dave Piecuch and the mayor of Stockton Anthony Silva shared the stage, as the new team name and logo were unveiled before a large crowd of fans eagerly waiting to be the first to get a glimpse of the new look.

“Calgary wanted to rebrand the team for a couple of reasons,” Piecuch said. “First, they wanted the fans to have no confusion that this is a new team at a higher level. They were also eager for a fresh start for hockey in the City of Stockton under a new banner.”

The new owners opened a name the team contest so that the fans could have a say in what the new name would be. The name Stockton Heat was selected as the winner out of a group of five finalists submitted by the fans.

“The Flames were excited to open the name the team contest to the fans so that they could have their voices heard,” Piecuch said. “There were close to 10,000 entries in the contest. Of the seven most popular entries, five of them were Flames-related, and those became the five finalists. The name Heat, which was one of the most-entered names, was chosen out of the five finalists because the Central Valley is certainly known for its heat and it kept the name weather related, something that California is known for across the world.”